The present invention relates to the electronic inventorying art and more particularly to improved systems and methods for automatically compiling a record of physical inventory which is adapted for high speed data processing equipment.
It is desirable to provide a system for automatically and constantly maintaining an up-dated record of physical inventory, particularly in inventory control situations where a large stock of numerous items enjoy a rapid turnover.
Various inventory accounting methods are known which employ data processing equipment. In the usual system inventory information is put into a computer which in turn records and processes the information in accordance with predetermined requirements, updates recorded information when new information is supplied to it, and makes the record of current inventory available for instant interrogation and use. Many of these systems are of the telemetry type which employ intercom arrangements such as telephones, inter-active terminals and the like for connecting the inventory storage facilities with the inventory control computer and also with distributed computers and/or terminals. Thus inventory at one or more storage facilities, e.g., warehouses, supermarkets, and distribution centers may be accounted for on site and this data may be transmitted by telephone communication lines or radio transmission to a centrally located computer center and/or multiple interactive terminals located at individual marketing locations. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,605,089, 4,180,204 and 4,034,339 illustrate different approaches to inventory control.
Most prior inventory accounting methods have shortcomings at the input end. Often inventory is taken manually to start and constant inventory accounting is achieved by accurate accounting of all transactions into and out of stock. However, that type of inventory accounting is slow and expensive and requires meticulous acquisition and handling of inventory data. Often the inventory derived by the constant accounting of transactions into and out of stock is inaccurate because of unaccounted for transactions, spoilage, breakage, pilferage, or improper identification of number or type of goods in stock, or for other reasons. Accordingly, means have been devised for facilitating and rendering more accurate the determination of how many items are present at selected storage sites.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,089 discloses an inventory scanning and recording system which comprises a plurality of pressure-responsive transducers upon which items of stock rest. The transducers are read by scanning means and the information read by the scanning means is recorded in a storage unit to create an inventory record. This record is updated with each scanning sequence. This record is constantly available for computer interrogation or for utilization by a reader or for transmittal to selected media such as magnetic tape, disc, or other suitable storage media.
Unfortunately the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,089 is limited in its suitability for large scale warehouses where a large number of different types of articles are stored in varying amounts. The particular form of transducer system employed in the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,089 does not conveniently accommodate a change in the type of articles to be stored in a particular area, and also does not appear to permit determination of the number of articles in each individual storage area with the accuracy required by currently acceptable accounting practices.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,724 discloses another form of inventory control system which employs individual weight sensing means as supports for bottles on a shelf. That system is not readily adaptable to many uses and suffers because of the need for one weight sensor for each article to be counted.